During this period, namely, from his eighth to his twelfth year, he
became passionately fond of writing verses: and I have now before me,
kindly forwarded by one of his relatives in Ireland, two small quarto
MS. volumes, containing exclusively what he wrote during this period,
extending to upwards of seventy or eighty pieces, some of considerable
length, and in every kind of English verse. Their genuineness is
unquestionable; and I shall quote from them in the state in which they
were originally collected at the time, without the alteration of a
single letter. Having completely satisfied myself on this point, and I
hope the reader also, what will he think of the following evidence of
the creative perception of humour professed by a child scarce thirteen
years of age? I have transcribed it _verbatim_. It is prefixed to a
satirical poem of some length, entitled "Practical Morality."

Preface _loquitur_--

"Though it may appear to thee, courteous reader, that I have in all
ages been considered as a vehicle of fumbling apologies and trivial
excuses, a sort of go-between employed by the writer to deprecate
the anger of the peruser, in short, the literary servant of
all-work, whether my duty be to expatiate on the merits, or
apologise for the defects of my master, or (as it often is) to
claim the pity and forbearance of the mobile, and set forth in
humble terms the degradations he has submitted, and is still ready
to submit to,--I say, reader, though a part so servile has been
assigned to me, yet, should my natural claims and intrinsic merits
be duly considered, different, far different would be my station.
What! am I thus exalted in situation above my [_sic_] situated, (as
I may say,) in the very van, exposed to the sneer of every
satirical reader and sententious critic? Am I placed in a post so